The reform of the BC SPCA has been a rocky road indeed, fraught with ethical potholes, all of which the SPCA has fallen into. It has now hired a person with a passion for animal welfare but whose principles we are forced to question.

Craig Daniell is the new everything at the BC SPCA: Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer (controls the branches), Manager of Cruelty Prevention (the top cop). We truly believe that Mr Daniell is passionate about animal cruelty and determined to make the BC SPCA at last prevent it. And we believe that he understands the ethical and moral underpinnings of real animal welfare. We praised him for his rapid seizures of abused animals, especially of puppymills, shortly after starting his job in November 2002. And we are very supportive of his resolve to rid the SPCA of career animal killers.

But it was not long before we had to begin to question his principles. Too many disturbing facts arose with distressing quickness. We will not list them here yet, but not the least of which was his decision to return abused dogs to the puppymiller they had been seized from on payment of $11,000 by the puppymiller and then his misleading explanation of this in the media. (SPCA to give dogs back to Chilliwack puppymiller after being paid "seizure costs". http://www.animaladvocates.com/cgi-bin/newsroom.pl/read/3014)

One other action that has forced us to stay in the role of critic was his highly questionable decision to raid the Forgotten Felines cat shelter: (WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? http://www.animaladvocates.com/cgi-bin/newsroom.pl/read/3718)

Some actions by Mr Daniell cause us to question his use of his power. AAS warned him about the danger that some employees might cause the SPCA if given their heads and we have been proven right in our opinion. But Mr Daniell has shown by who he chooses to retain and who to fire, and who to support when they misuse their badge and their power, that he approves of hard-ball tactics. No one is safe when the law is unprincipled.

AAS wants the BC SPCA to be headed by a person both passionate and principled.